Every January, I promise myself I will finally get my bills, files and other paperwork organized. But after 15 minutes surrounded by my piles and bags, I give up, leave the office and shut the door and continue to live in chaos.

Frequently, it is the backlog of paper that prevents us from creating a functioning paper management system. Instead of trying to manage the backlog while creating a new file system (an impossible task), it's easier to separate the process into three parts and tackle each one separately over an extended period of time:

Sometimes I feel like my life consists of picking up, cleaning up and following up after everyone in my family. I remember that the house In which I grew up was always neat and tidy. How did my Mom do it?

Other than hiring a maid, what can I do to get others to help tame the clutter chaos?

Identify a space in the basement, garage, attic that will serve as the Archives. The Archives are intended for items that you do not need to access on a frequent basis or will keep for a specified amount of time. There should be adequate space for multiple boxes. I do not recommend renting storage space. It is costly and often encourages us to hold onto more paper than we need.

To create a workable Personal Filing System, you will identify a general category and then sub categories of related papers. The most common mistake when setting up any filing system is to create a separate file folder for every piece of paper rather than group similar information.

To avoid creating too many file folders, think of your Personalized Filing System as a Chest of Drawers.